1) I knew that if there was an emergency which required me to live off of my food storage, I darn well better learn how to make bread out of all of this wheat I was storing.

2) I needed to find some way to introduce hearty wheat into my diet so that I didn’t put my digestive system into shock when I did start living off of it.

3) Even though I could get away with paying only 99 cents for a loaf of bread occasionally, I knew that if I could make it fresh, it would be sooo much better for me and therefore worth it.

As it turns out, my decision to learn how to make bread was a good choice for other reasons as well.

1) My husband LOVES it, as do the neighbors, my employees, and even me! (Plus, it makes for great gifts)

2) I now have the confidence I need to make it and know that we’ll be just fine surviving on it.

3) I now have a more accurate understanding of what OTHER items I need to have on hand in my food storage. (Go figure. You can’t just make wheat bread with just wheat.)

4) My quest for learning how to make it has led me to develop a KICK BUTT-No-Fail recipe! (I never thought I’d be saying that when it came to bread making!)

So, I’m going to share the recipe with you today. For those of you who are already pros, I dare say that you’ll find some twists that I incorporate that may be helpful to you. And at the very least, you will LOVE the breadsticks idea. For the record, this bread turns out nice and soft even though it’s 100% whole wheat. It’s often been mistaken as “store bought” bread. (When feeding kids that can be a good thing.)

First, let me just share with you—don’t be discouraged by the methods that I use for making my bread just because you may not have them on hand. I have had ALL of my new-fangled luxuries break down at some point and thus have had to make due with good old fashioned elbow grease. I use a Bosch Universal Mixer and a Nutrimill to make this easy bread making. The Bosch does all of my kneading for me, however, I have used my Kitchen Aid mixer instead of my Bosch, but it seemed to be awfully hard on the motor. You’ve got to have one of the heavy-duty Kitchen Aid mixers if you’re going to make bread in it. Otherwise you’ll have to knead the bread the good old fashioned way—by hand. Also, keep in mind that I’m giving you my recipe based on the use of electricity and such. Obviously, that won’t do you much good if your power is out and you’re camping for a while. Don’t worry. If you begin making bread more regularly “in comfort”, then when it comes time to do it under “less than desirable circumstances” you’ll be able to easily adapt, much better than had you never mastered it.

Kellene’s Kick-Butt Wheat Bread (and her famous breadsticks)

Ingredients:

6 cups of warm water (How do you know it’s warm enough or not too hot? If it’s warm enough to bathe a baby in without scolding him, then it’s just fine.)

(Note: I now substitute just FOUR quarter-sized portions of the liquid lecithin oil for both the coconut oil AND the Lecithin Granules in this recipe. The oil lasts longer, is less expensive, and makes for a more nutritious bread. I just squeeze the oil into the bowl directly, again, just enough to make the size of a quarter, four times.)

2 ½ T. of Dough Enhancer (I use the Magic Mill brand which you can usually find in the grocery stores, but definitely locate in your specialty kitchen stores. You can also use lemon juice as a dough enhancer)

12 to 16 C. of wheat flour (I grind my own flour for this recipe each time with my Nutrimill—Yes, you can use white flour if you’d like, but you only need to knead the bread about half as long)

2 ½ T. of Instant Yeast (I use SAF brand and I store the open package in the freezer or the fridge for years)

2 T. Vital Wheat Gluten (Note: ONLY use wheat gluten if your flour is old or a lesser quality wheat. If you’re using fresh ground wheat or a good quality flour, then you won’t need the wheat gluten.)

Place 9 cups of freshly ground flour in the mixing bowl with the dough hook attached. Then add 6 cups of warm water. Mix on speed level 1 until you’ve got a paste consistency. Turn off the machine and add the yeast, salt, honey, oil, and lecithin granules (and wheat gluten if you’re going to use it). Turn machine back on to speed 1. Begin adding additional cups of flour one cup at a time. As the machine bears down, increase the speed to 2. Continue adding additional flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I usually use a total of 15 ½ cups of flour.

Note: Here’s the trick. You want to make sure that you do not add too much flour. I like to add just enough so that the dough starts pulling away and that I can handle the dough. This approach, as well as the lecithin granules and dough enhancer, is the reason why my bread turns out so soft. Most folks who make homemade wheat bread add too much flour.

Set your timer and let the Bosch knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes. Stop the mixer. Add the dough enhancer. Then let the Bosch knead the dough for another 2 minutes (still on Speed 2). Grease your hands and then gently remove all of the dough from the bowl and place it on a greased cutting board in an even rectangular shape. Using a knife, score your dough into 5 evenly spaced sections. Then pinch off each section, form it into an oblong loaf.

Note: Pinch your bread dough, do not tear it. Only score your bread so that you can see the 5 sections. Don’t use the knife to actually cut the sections.

Place the loaf in 4 to 5 greased bread pans or you can use non-stick bread pans, depending on the size of loaves you desire. (I use 5 non-stick bread pans, but I still spray them with “Pam.” They should be about ½ to 2/3 full.) Place the loaves where they will not be blown on by the air conditioning so that they can rise at room temperature. Cover the pans with Saran Wrap to keep them moist as they rise. (I spray the Saran Wrap with “Pam” on the sides that will be on top of the bread to prevent the dough from sticking to the wrap.) Let the dough rise until doubled. This should be approximately 1 ½ inches above the top of the pan. When finished rising, place them in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

When the bread is finished baking, you will be able to tap it lightly on top and have it sound “hollow.” Take the pans out and place them on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the loaves from the pans and cool on their sides sufficiently prior to storing.

Special Note: This recipe makes great rolls as well! As a special little trick when I’m hosting a party, I take the dough and roll them into small breadsticks (about 4 -5 inches long). Then I dip the “breadstick dough” into melted butter. Then I place them on a big cookie sheet about an inch apart from each other. I then sprinkle McCormick’s Salad Supreme seasoning generously on top of them and bake them at 350 degrees for 13 to 18 minutes. You will LOVE the taste of these bread sticks!

Comments

I have 100 lbs of wheatberries already, but my grainmill won't arrive until the end of September (group order thing). Then I'll start adding a bit more whole wheat a little at a time, because I have to watch my insoluble fiber intake. I haven't used dough enhancers yet, because I've been using AP flour so far.

For now, I'm using my breadmaker's pizza setting to knead stuff like pizza and hamburger buns.

Shreela (thanks for the extra pair of eyes) You're adding the wheat in very wisely! I hope you enjoy it!! And way to be smart by doing the group buy! Remember, wheat gluten isn't necessary so long as you have good flour/wheat. However, when making bread, I always recommend the lecithin granules and the dough enhancers. It makes it so much softer and just darn delicious, even though it's 100% whole wheat.

Regina, a couple of things to know about lecithin. Our bodies do need it. Lecithin is good for you. Each tablespoon (7.5 grams) of lecithin granules contains about 1700 mg of phosphatidyl choline, 1000 mg of phosphatidyl inositol, and about 2,200 mg of essential fatty acids as linoleic acid. It also contains the valuable fish-oil-like, omega-3 linolenic acid. It is the rule, not the exception, for one or more of these valuable substances to be undersupplied by our daily diet. I use a total of 3 T. in my 5 loaf recipe and I use it not only as an emulsifier, but also as a supplement. Wheat, even when sprouted, is shy in only one primary nutrient, and that's lecithin. It's better than using sheep brains--another good source of lecithin. :-) You are correct that lecithin supplements are made from soy. However, soy itself is not bad for you. It's highly dependent on how it is processed. I pay particular attention to that. Also, keep in mind that I'm only using the 3T. -4T for the entire recipe, which means you're getting about a 10th of your daily lecithin supply with each slice of bread.

Hey Kellene! I get away with not using the enhancers by going half and half with AP flour. I'm using soft red winter wheat(every farmer around here plants it) and it tastes like store bought. Gotta watch the rise time closely or you end up with a flatter loaf.

I'm using a Diamant grinder and I like to leave the wheat slightly under ground for wheat flakes in the bread and only grind what I intend to use that day.

Keep in mind the dough enhancer provides some additional nutrients. So I use it for super soft wheat bread as well as nutrients. I like to sprinkle wheat flakes on the top of my bread just before baking. It makes it look so...so...perfect. :-)

Lesli, thanks for being another set of eyes for us and finding the typo. I've updated the recipe now to correct that AND to add the new way that I usually make my bread as well. You can use either method. And yes, it's coconut oil.

I finally got everything together to make this (except lecithin granules, still have to get those) and the bread turned out PERFECT! OMG, it is so wonderful! I don't have a Bosch (yet!), so I cut the recipe in half and used my KitchenAid. It still came out great! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. I've tried several different ones and found they just were too dense. Yours is great! I'm hooked!
Kim :)

PS. Got a six pack of Augason Farms dough enhancer at a great price through Sam's Club. Love it!

Quick question...have you tried mixing in other grains as well? That's something I'm getting ready to experiment with, using this recipe as the base. Would love to have some Kick butt Oat Bran bread, along with some of the other grains I've got stocked (triticale, barley, etc). I'm thinking as long as it's a mix it would be fine. Not sure about 100% of the other grains. Will have to try and let you know.
Kim :)

@Preparedness Pro - Kellene Bishop In looking in the Pressure caner, this is inherited from my mother after her death, but has no instruction manual in it. Knowing the pressure setting for my elevation just follow the time settings listed? Again thank you for the time and information you give for everyone.

Kellene,
What exactly is dough enhancer? I went to three different stores today and no one carried it, and in fact, no one knew what it was...every single person said "Do you mean yeast?". I have been able to find everything else...the lecithin i found at GNC, for those of you who can't find it...check your local GNC store. You said to ONLY use wheat gluten if your flour is old or a lesser quality wheat...how can you tell? I don't grind my own wheat because I don't have a grinding mill (yet) so I bought "King Arthur Flour, Premium 100% whole wheat flour; Made from 100% USA wheat carefully selected for the best baking qualities. Expiration date 02/03/13". Would that be considered lesser quality or good quality? I bought the wheat gluten anyway, just in case, but I just don't know if I should use it or not.
One last thing, I will be kneading the flour by hand. How long do you think I would need to do this, since I have never baked a loaf of bread in my life, so this will be my first time attempting it?
Thanks a bunch!

You'll always compromise a little bit of your baking when starting out with flour instead of grain that you grind, but that's likely not going to be noticeable to anyone who's not a bread snob like myself. :-)
Once my Bosch went on the fritz and I had to knead by hand. Frankly I was grateful for the break down because it forced me to prove to myself that I could knead by hand. I did it for about 10 minutes.

Thanks, Kellene! Is there a difference between the different brands of dough enhancer? I am extremely grateful for the links you provided, but now I dunno which one to choose LOL :). Also, you didn't mention if I should use the vital wheat gluten or not...unless you meant I should when you said there's a compromise when starting out with flour instead of grain. I figure it's gonna take me a few tries to get the bread right, since I've never done it before, but I would like to make sure I understand everything completely before I begin.
Thanks again...you're still my "addiction" lol (my hubby still laughs at me when I tell him that :) )

I've used the Augason Farms one the most and a little of the Shirley J. I love Shirley J, but their price is significantly more than the Augason Farms. So I bought a 50 pound bag of the Augason Farms. :-) Yup, I know, I'm officially a prepping geek now. :-)

Prepping geek is NOT a bad thing...I hope to be called one some day!
Went ahead and ordered 2 of the everyday cans of dough enhancer from Augason Farms. Thanks!

So do I need to add the vital wheat gluten? I don't want to add anything I don't need to, and I'm still not clear if my flour requires adding the vital wheat gluten. I explained what kind of flour I'm using in my first post. Sorry to ask again, but I am trying to get this right the first time :)

I LOVE being a prepping geek. :-) You only need vital wheat gluten if your flour is old. The dough enhancer has some vwg in it as well.
I may get tired and cranky sometimes, but I truly do want to help folks and I can't rightly do that if I can't answer their questions. So ask away and make friends with the search feature on our blog too.

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer all my silly questions, especially since I'm sure you're extremely busy. I have already become good friends with the search bar...but this site is full of sooo much great information, I spend a good three to four hours a day reading away (if not more). I can't read it fast enough! :)

What is considered old flour? I know that's probably another silly question...do you mean if it's past the expiration date on the package? And if not, how can you tell?

Kellene,
My mother-in-law gave me her Sunbeam 2lb. EXPRESSBAKE bread maker today. I was so excited and couldn't wait to try it out. I am currently trying out one of the recipes in the manual for whole wheat bread, but I would really like to try your recipe above, but it's for 5 loaves. I have only made bread once (2 weeks ago) and I had to do it all by hand, kneading and all. I used your recipe, but I did something wrong because the bread came out very heavy and thick. Anyhoo, I want to try your recipe again using this bread maker, but I don't know how to adjust your recipe to fit the 2 lb loaf size requirement of the machine. Can you help? Thanks!!

So, I was reading through this recipe,ran to my local natural food store...they were out of lecithin oil...so, I ordered it...picked it up today, as I came though the front door it slipped out of my hand...and, you guessed it, it hit the floor and that glass jar and gooey lecithin went everywhere, I ended up throwing out the rug by the door! Haha, messy stuff! However, I am a determined girl...I will pick up some more tomorrow, I can't wait to taste this bread!! Also, I bid on a Bosch Kitchen mixer, won it for 96.00!! Hope it works great:)

Well color me embarassed. I went back and re-read both Part 1 and Part 2 on the Fats/Oils and this time I read the comments and questions. WALLA there was the link you gave someone who already ask my question. Lord help me.

Hi Kellene!
Have never made a loaf of bread in my life, looking to put that in my skill box! Do you have a suggestion for a quality bread mixer and a grinder? the bosch is quite expensive around $300/$400 unless I am looking at the wrong one. also, where do you get your wheat for your bread? Any videos for bread making?